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Environmental
Profile of PCBs |
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CANADIAN PCB EMISSIONS INVENTORY
Sediment | PCBs in Use and in Storage | Fish Advisories | Accidental Spills and Releases | Surface Water | Air
Sediment Contamination
In the Lake Ontario LaMP 2002 report for Lake Ontario, there will be a table which describes loading to sediment. The following is excerpted from that report. The full report can be accessed at http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/ontario.html
Table 5.2 Estimates of Critical Pollutants Entering Lake Ontario Via Major Tributaries from Atmospheric, point and Non-point sources: [selected Canadian data]:
Source |
PCBs
(kg/yr) |
| Burlington Canal | 2.8
(1) Y (8,10) |
| Cataraqui River | Y
(12) |
| Credit River | Y
(8,12) |
| Don River | 1.0
(3) Y (12) |
| Duffins Creek | Y
(8,12) |
| Etobicoke Creek | 0.6
(3) |
| Humber River | 1.7
(3) Y (8,12) |
| Napanee River | N/A |
| Oakville Creek | Y
(8) |
| Trent River | Y
(4,12) |
| Twelve Mile Creek | Y
(8,12) |
| Welland Ship Canal | Y
(8,12) |
| Atmospheric (2) | 32 |
Upstream (9)
|
25 kg/year |
|
155
kg/year |
Y - Detected in qualitative monitoring
Sediment Concerns at Areas of Concern
Information is available on specific sediment problems in the 2001 Binational Toxics Strategy progress report "Update on Sediment Issues in Areas of Concern (Canada)":
Port Hope Harbour: PCBs found in sediment along with heavy metals and uranium series radionuclides; being treated as low-level radioactive waste
St. Clair River: Dow Chemical announcement March 2001 for remediation of 35,000 cubic meters of sediment adjacent to its property with elevated PCBs and other toxic contaminants
Peninsula Harbor (Marathon): Sediments with elevated levels of PCBs and mercury extend approx. 3 km from Marathon to a depth of 2 to 36 meters. Estimated volume of 55,000 cubic meters of sediment in the shallow water areas of the Harbor that exceeds Provincial Sediment Quality Guidelines, with approximately 10,000 cubic meters residing in the area of highest concentration
Hamilton Harbor: PCBs and other contaminants in sediment resulting from discharges over several decades from industrial and urban sources. Harbor is a sediment trap, and retains 85% of all suspended sediment discharged into it.
Information From 2000 Binational Toxics Strategy progress report "Update on Sediment Issues in Areas of Concern (Canada)":
Wheatley Harbor is located on the northwestern shore of Lake Erie. Historically, industrial discharges to the harbor contained PCBs. Improved wastewater treatment at local fish processing plants effectively removed PCBs from their discharges. PCB-contaminated sediments in the harbor are being land disposed during dredging operations